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| Vermont, you elusive land of nectar, you! |
"I'm ready enough," I thought. Then came the storm delay, the humidity, the sun, the heat, the hills, the self-doubt... the excuses. This was my second swing-and-a-miss in The Green Mountain State; you're lucky you're pretty Vermont because this
3:04:41 won't be the last you see of me!
After
The New Jersey Marathon, I was physically and emotionally wrecked. Sprinting down the homestretch to 40 years old, stressed from operating an all-consuming run club, and all of the sudden my hips hurt, then a strained calf muscle kept me from redoing South Dakota on 5/11. So, in the 4 weeks between NJ and this race, I rested. The mileage wasn't there but the pains were subsiding.
But enough about running, let's talk about why we're really here...
I flew into Burlington Friday morning and drove the 1.5 hours to
Hill Farmstead Brewery intent to fill their noon to 5pm hours with beer, a book, good conversations, and the views from the remote farm on which this brewery is located. I met some great people from Los Angeles and this book on
Chernobyl is fascinating, all-in-all, a rejuvenating visit.
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| Hill Farmstead's location is its true charm |
Dinner and drinks at
The Reservoir, next to the
bed & breakfast we had in Waterbury, turned into hours of conversation with the locals. At the end of day 1, I had more adult interactions than I get as a stay-at-home dad in a week!
The following morning, I woke up to pillow talk with Laurie - yes, the same Laurie from NJ... she was saying something about all the pillows each of our beds had. What did you think I meant?! She arrived late, after I had passed out.
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| I forgot my toothbrush, I improvised |
No trip to Vermont is complete without a stop at
Ben & Jerry's and the highlight is the graveyard of retired flavors.
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| R.I.P. luscious flavors of the past! |
The
Alchemist Brewery has a cult following in the beer world with
Heady Topper double IPA. They recently built a facility with a beautiful outdoor space to meet the demand of New England but after we had a few beers contemplating a round of disc golf from their patio, I felt it just isn't the same as having to follow their delivery truck schedule to head off a delivery at
Warren Store like Melissa and I did in 2014 on this
NH & ME double marathon trip - that's how crazy it was back when they were small and didn't have a taproom.
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| Calling it what it is |
You know what's happening down the road this afternoon? Bernie Sanders's 1st Vermont rally of this election cycle! We thought about it...
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| The only thing missing from this trip was Michael, who was with us in NJ, so... |
Now, back to running.
Our
Hotel Vermont room is rustic chic and perfectly located close to the start line where we watched as a storm rolled in off Lake Champlain, delaying the start by 45 minutes. We were in for a warm, humid morning.
This race is a big deal for Burlington and the townsfolk do a great job of volunteering and supporting the runners. There were several homes with their own aid stations handing out Freeze Pops (I had a few), Vermont maple syrup (it's quite good as a gel substitute), and high fives from children. After conquering the rolling hills, peaking on a not-insignificant climb up Battery Hill to mile 16, the remainder of this course is fairly flat. However, I was drained and when my average pace per mile crept over 6:53 at mile 20, it was time to change the narrative.
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| Mile 24 - being happy with "failure" |
This is my 1st race as a Master and new Boston-qualifying standard which I thought was 3:05 (turns out it's 3:10) - new goal for the day! I finished with enough time to shower, drink a beer, grab one of the hotel bikes to see Laurie at mile 25.5. She succeeded in breaking a habit of dropping to the half in her last couple of marathons and finished in 3:51. I was happy for her; we both made it a great race!
It was a fun weekend. Plenty of great conversation followed at one of my favorite VT breweries,
Lawson's Finest Liquids. It was perfect weather to be outside: I took Laurie to Warren Store to grab dinner and wade in the nearby stream before heading back to Burlington's
Foam Brewery and
Burlington Bay Market for their Maple Creemee and a Lake Champlain sunset.
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| Getting artsy |
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| Lake Champlain |
See you soon, Vermont!
